Inter Milan coach celebrates end of Lautaro Martinez’s goal drought in defeat of Cagliari

CAGLIARI – Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi reaffirmed his faith in striker Lautaro Martinez, after he ended his goal drought in the 3-0 win over Cagliari on Dec 28.

Inter’s skipper had not scored for his club since Nov 3 in a 1-0 Serie A win over Venezia.

But the Argentinian got back on the scoresheet in the 71st minute on Dec 28 with a volley to put his team two up.

Inzaghi praised Martinez’s resilience, despite his recent struggles.

“Naturally, this situation was weighing on him, though we told him to relax and that he continued to give the team so much with his work,” the coach told Dazn streaming service.

“Lautaro will never be a problem for Inter, only a resource.”

Alessandro Bastoni’s header and Hakan Calhanoglu’s penalty sealed Inter’s sixth consecutive away league win. Inzaghi praised his side’s hard work from set pieces and the contributions of players such as Federico Dimarco, Calhanoglu and Kristjan Asllani.

“At the end of the first half, we congratulated the team on their performance and knew we just had to keep going against a tenacious Cagliari side,” Inzaghi added.

The manager was upbeat as he set his sights on Inter’s fourth consecutive Supercoppa title and a 21st Scudetto after lifting the title last season.

“This exciting 2024 ends with the 20th Scudetto that will forever unite us with the fans and directors, but now we go to Saudi Arabia for the Supercoppa hoping to win it for the fourth year in a row.”

Inter (40 points) are second in Serie A, one point behind Atalanta, who drew 1-1 away to Lazio later on Dec 28. But they could be leapfrogged by Napoli should Antonio Conte’s men beat relegation-threatened Venezia on Dec 29.

Fourth-placed Lazio ended Atalanta’s streak of 11 consecutive league victories.

After dominating the first half, they were rewarded in the 27th minute when Nicolo Rovella played a high through ball to Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, who cut inside the box and sent a bouncing volley into the net.

Atalanta grew into the match and they equalised when Marco Brescianini easily tapped in from close range two minutes before full-time, after Ademola Lookman set him up.

“The most important chances came in the second half,” Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini told Dazn. “If we had scored earlier, we would have had more opportunities to turn the game around after a very difficult first half, where Lazio deserved their lead.

“We couldn’t handle their intensity, with all their players pressing hard. We struggled to win the ball back. On their goal, they were quicker than us in midfield.

“It took us a while to find our footing. Partly due to our shortcomings and largely because of their quality, we suffered a lot in the first half. Then in the second half, we played a different game.” REUTERS